8. Clinique Haul

Earlier this month I was invited to a Clinique event at my local department store. I paid a £5 deposit to reserve my place. Once I got there we were treated to mince pies, coffee and juice, and on our chairs were some little gift bags. We were then treated to a demonstration of the Clinique Sonic System Purifying Cleansing Brush and the 3 Step Cleansing System. The makeup artist then showed us a few looks using The Nutcracker palettes. This palette has some gorgeous pinky tones, so if that's what you like I would definitely look into this. It's a Limited Edition too - so snap it up quickly!

I already knew some items that I was considering buying so here's what I got! My £5 deposit was redeemable and a 6 piece gift available if I made 2 or more purchases. Prices given for "freebies" are worth.

Moisture Surge 15ml x 2 (£10.20 each), Moisture Surge 50ml (£34.00), Superbalm Moisturising Gloss 5ml (£5.33), Moisture Surge CC Cream 7ml (£5), Moisture Surge Over Night Mask 30ml (£9), All About Eyes 7ml (£9.80).

The majority of this I got in a pack for £40 (prices given if purchased separately). The CC cream and one of the 15ml Moisture Surge I got in a freebie for turning up to the event. The CC cream and I haven't got on in the past, the colours are never right, but maybe I will save it for summer and try again! I've grouped all of this together because they're all "moisturising". I desperately needed to get some moisture into my skin and so far, the Moisture Surge has been doing a fabulous job. My skin really misses this product under my make up if I forget to put it on. All About Eyes is my favourite eye cream for puffiness and dryness, it feels gorgeous and silky and really makes a difference. I'm looking forward to trying the mask and gloss in this chilly weather too!

Anti Blemish Solutions Cleansing Foam 125ml (£17).

This cleanser was a product I knew I wanted to purchase that day. As previously mentioned I use the Mild Liquid Facial Soap by Clinique and find that it works for me, but recently my blemishes have been a bit out of control so I wanted to get something more targeted. I'd heard good things about the Anti Blemish Solutions range and while I'm worried it will be drying, at this point I'm willing to try! It's also a foaming cleanser which will be different too because I'm more used to a thick, luxurious cleanser. I have high hopes for this product and will do a review at some point.

Mild Liquid Facial Soap 30ml (£2.40), Clarifying Lotion Type 2 30ml (£2.48), Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion+ 30ml (£7.20), Take the Day Off Makeup Remover for Lids, Lashes and Lips 30ml (£4).

This was all part of the additional gift. I'm a total sucker for travel sizes; I have a whole box of them in my room and seeing as this is all the products I use anyway I was very pleased. I especially like the moisturiser, which I'm always a bit reluctant to buy because I'm cheap! The make up remover works like a dream and I like the liquid form of exfoliator, like Clarifying Lotion, as they're easy to integrate into your daily routine.

Clinique Smart Custom Repair Serum 10ml (£11), Even Better Foundation sample 1.5ml (£1.22), Clinique Smart Serum Sample 1.5 ml (£1.65), Clinique Calyx Perfume sample 15 ml (£10)

These were the last little "freebies" I got. The thing I'm most excited about is the Serum! The reviews for this are mostly out of this world. As soon as my skin is more hydrated I will be slapping this on with gusto! Perfume samples are always good, Calyx is quite a summer scent in my opinion, very fresh and fruity. I'll probably take it on holiday with me or wear it at the weekend in the spring, and it's a good sized sample so it'll last a little while. Foundation samples are always nice, providing it's the right (ish) colour, and this is supposedly a very good foundation. I like Clinique foundations as a whole so I'm looking forward to trying this!

All in, I spent £52 and got £140.48 worth of products; I saw some cool demonstrations and got some first hand advice! A couple of hours well spent :) Let me know what you think <3                                                                 

7. September Favourites 2014

September favourites

September always feels like a fresh start  to me; summer is winding down and it’s back to work and school. I know some people don’t like that feeling, but I love the idea of getting a new start. Plus,  you get to tell people all your stories and memories of summer. We’ve been really lucky this year and had a fabulous September which gradually got colder as we got closer to October, the trees began to turn and get altogether more wintery!

I have quite a few favourites from September so I‘ll start with the beauty and skincare:

Dermalogica PreCleanse

As the weather gets colder, it becomes much more difficult (and important!) to prevent dry skin. Cleansers and other products that are fine in summer will no longer do the same jobs. Dermalogica PreCleanse is a miracle product. It’s an oil which smells beautiful and a bit herbal, as applied to the face it latches onto the excess oil in your skin and when you rinse away it smoothly removes any excess grease, oil, dirt and make-up. This product is used in addition to a normal cleanser so not for those who like a simple 1 step routine, but it is a luxury item and definitely worth the investment. It never dries out my skin and improves my spots no end!

Clinique face wash – very mild and mild

This is one of the only face washes that actually does anything to improve my skin. Within a week of using it my pores are closed up, my spots are clearing and the tone of my skin is improved. It helps to control the oil content of my skin which means my make up stays in place longer and I don’t get as many blackheads. I love the Clinique packaging – green is one of my favourite colours – and this face wash foams up really well. I like a product that looks and feel s like it is doing something . I know people have said they find some Cliniqe products quite drying which is why I’ve included the extra mild version too.

Avene Thermal Water Spray

Recently I have been really loving French pharmacy brands and Avene is definitely my favourite. For a start I love the price and the simplicity. I go to Avene for really good hydrating products. At first I was pretty sceptical about this water. You just spray it on your face and I wondered how much difference that could actually do. It turns out – quite a lot. I use this after I’ve cleansed and once I’ve patted it into my skin, my face feels lovely and smooth. It boosts the performance of my moisturiser and makes my skin look fresher.

Elizabeth Arden Eight hour cream

This is another colder weather must have. An Elizabeth Arden staple, Eight hour cream comes in all sorts of forms. I am a big fan of the lip balm version and the original. I often suffer from very dry and slightly scaly skin under my eyes and after using this for 48 hours it is all cleared up and healed. The consistency is thick and luxurious feeling to me. The lip balm is lovely for me as my lips are a sensitive area for me again. I love the Elizabeth Arden brand and the packaging is classic.

No7 Bronzer

I really miss my summer tan – I'm definitely a bronzing girl. This bronzer has two halves – the darker matte side and the highlighter. I never buy bronzers with shimmer or glitter in because I really don’t like the look and I don’t find them suitable for day wear. This one did not disappoint and most definitely needs a light hand to apply it. I've had to blend it out and start over a few times! The highlighter side will add any shimmer should you want to use it and if you use them both together you get a lovely healthy glow. I use a contour brush for a concentrated area of extra colour or a larger powder or face brush to get an all over glow. The pigment of this product is excellent and I hope it will last a long time. I like the No7 packaging too and have not been disappointed with their make up yet.

A messy bun

Recently I have started college and I have to have my hair in a doughnut/ ballerina bun. So I have been playing with the hair style and become a huge fan of having a messy bun. I find this is a great hairstyle if you haven't had time to wash your hair or if you can’t really be bothered to do much else with it. Doing a proper ballerina bun takes a lot of product on my hair so I don’t like to then wash it every night as my hair starts to dry out – therefore a messy bun is perfect! I like to make the bun low or high and all my layers add to the messiness!

Cupcakes

In the towns near me there seems to be a food fair on every weekend! I love going and sampling all the little treats and I’m such a sucker for beautiful cup cakes. They’re such a treat! I manage to make 4 last a whole week sometimes if I’m really good. I especially like the ones that are themed around different biscuits or chocolate bars.

Stabilo Fine Liners

Going to college meant I got to do one of my favourite things – stationery shopping. I loooooove stationery, in fact I probably didn't need any more of these pens. Stabilo make some of the best pens ever and the best thing about these ones is the colour. There are literally – loads! This means you can make your work beautiful and colourful which I think aids  revision when you have to do it (ugh!) I buy them online or when I am in Europe which is cheaper than getting them here in the UK where they are way more pricey!

Let me know what you've been loving and get ready for autumn with me!

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